India's opening batter Smriti Mandhana made a big splash after she ended up being the most expensive player sold at the inaugural Women's Premier League auction (WPL) on February 13. The southpaw bagged a deal of INR 3.4 crore from Royal Challengers Bangalore and was handed the responsibility to lead the side in the opening edition of the tournament.
Though Royal Challengers Bangalore had a forgettable season after they finished second from bottom with just two victories in as many as eight games, Smriti's hefty check made a lot of headlines.
The 27-year-old has opened up on how she felt after receiving such a huge paycheck and what were some of the reactions of people when she turned out to be the most sought-after player at the Jio World Convention Centre on February 13 - the day of the auction.
"People did ask me that what are you gonna do of those 3.4 crores and my mind went like it is not like the first time that I am gonna earn 3.4 crores in a year. So, a lot of weird questions were asked. I don't think many people know how things work behind the scenes and not that we are really vocal about what are we earning and I am really happy it is not talked about as I feel really shy about it," said Smriti in an interview with independent journalist Annesha Ghosh on the latter's YouTube channel.
Just like RCB, the opening season of the WPL is not worth remembering for Smriti as she couldn't live up to all the expectations that the fans of the franchise and her fans had with her. In eight games that she played during the season, she could merely aggregate 149 runs at a dismal average of 18.62 at an underwhelming strike rate of 111.19.
